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How much would you pay for something you knew you would only wear once?
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The dress.
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For some, what a bride wears on her wedding day is almost as important as the wedding itself.
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But for many brides, finding that perfect dress comes at a price, literally.
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So what makes these gowns so much more expensive than any other dress?
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Bridal designer Lila Rose says it's the custom nature of a wedding gown that makes it so valuable.
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I think it's really about the quality of fabrications, the type of embroidery, the way that it's done, and you can really tell that it was done individually instead of being mass-produced and there really is a difference
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Oftentimes, we're using Indian embroideries where all of that is hand done.
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There's a lot of different hand work in our gowns, so there really is this artisanal quality that does make each piece special and unique to its own self.
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It's a very labor intensive process and I think that that's also what goes into the pricing of wedding gowns.
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It's not just that designers are saying "oh, you need it for your wedding, and I know you're willing to pay more".
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We know how important these pieces are and it's your one time to have this really amazing special gown and we treat it that way.
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Handcrafted details, custom fabrics, and excessive skilled labor all add to the garments final cost.
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But Mark Ingram, owner of Manhattan based bridal boutique Mark Ingram Atelier, says it's just as much about the experience of dress shopping as it is about the dress itself.
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The trick to understanding pricing and value of a wedding dress really is about the make and the fit.
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At say $49 retail, if you're getting a dress online.
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Somebody's got to give.
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But it's also about the experience, you know?
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You're paying for the dress.
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You're paying for being in a retail environment, a brick-and-mortar store, that has to staff, has to pay rent has fixed overheads as well.
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These things are all factored into the price that a dress.
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You're asking for service, you're getting service.
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In this day and age, there's so many other ways to purchase a wedding dress.
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I think that shopping for a wedding dress in a retail store with the true wedding professionals.
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Ordering a Couture dress and having a Couture experience and being sized and fitted in alterations.
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It's nothing like that process.
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They're once-in-a-lifetime process, and I think you should never miss it.
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It wasn't always this way.
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Up until the mid 1800s, most women wore something from their closet.
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Often leaning towards colorful garments that were easier to clean.
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But in 1840, Queen Victoria broke the status quo by opting for a satin ivory colored dress.
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Magazines helped spread the story and thus the iconic white wedding dress was born.
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And it's an image that's still promoted in pop culture today.
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When I get married, I'm wearing something like that, only bigger.
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I do love it.
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Of course not every wedding dress on the market costs an arm and a leg.
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Today, more and more brides are looking at secondhand gowns as a way to cut costs.
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And sites like wish.com are gaining an infamous reputation for their bargain bin priced gowns
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Don't I look like a beautiful bride, well?
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Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.
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Ultimately, it comes down to basic economics.
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If something is only worth as much as someone else is willing to pay, then the question remains "what is the dream dress worth to you?"
